Why did Harry and Meghan leave the Royal Family?

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are visiting Australia on a private four-day tour which includes a combination of visits to charitable causes and money-making events.

It is Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's first trip to the country since 2018 when they spent around nine days in the country after their marriage.

The couple moved to the US in 2020 after stepping back from official royal duties, and no longer receive public funds.

Harry and Meghan stepped down as senior royals in January 2020.

They were angry about media intrusion and frustrated that Buckingham Palace prevented them developing their "SussexRoyal" brand.

Harry remains a prince and is fifth in line to the throne.

The couple, who met in 2016 and married in 2018, kept their Duke and Duchess of Sussex titles, but are no longer addressed as His or Her Royal Highness (HRH). Harry also gave up his military titles.

When Harry's father became King, the couple's two children became Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet of Sussex.

Harry and Meghan moved to California in June 2020, saying they wanted space to raise Archie. Lilibet was born there in 2021.

The couple no longer have an official UK residence, after being asked to vacate Frogmore Cottage, a Grade-II listed property on the Windsor estate.

Prince Harry's US immigration status has been challenged by conservative US think tank The Heritage Foundation, because of past comments about taking drugs including cocaine and marijuana.

Since moving to the US, Prince Harry has made a number of trips to the UK.

In January 2026 he returned to London to give evidence in person in his court case against Associated Newspapers Limited over claims it misused his and others' private information.

He also came back for separate court cases about his security arrangements and legal action against other newspaper publishers.

In September2025, he spent about 50 minutes with the King at Clarence House.

The duke also attended charity events, including the WellChild award ceremony for children with serious illness or disability.

In August 2024, he attended a memorial service for his uncle, Lord Robert Fellowes.

In February 2024, he flew back for a 45-minute meeting with Charles after Buckingham Palace announced that the King had cancer.

Harry attended his father's coronation in May 2023 without Meghan.

The duke and duchess returned to the UK for Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee in June 2022, and her funeral in September of that year.

As working royals, they received 95% of their annual income from Harry's father, then Prince of Wales. The taxpayer-funded Sovereign Grant made up the other 5%.

When they stepped down as senior royals, King Charles gave them "a substantial sum" to help establish their new life.

Harry and Meghan set up the Archewell charitable foundation, now known as Archewell Philanthropies.

They also established commercial arrangements with private companies and launched their Sussex.com website.

In 2006, Harry co-founded the Sentebale charity in honour of his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, to help young people in Botswana and Lesotho, particularly those living with HIV and Aids.

After an acrimonious dispute about how the charity was being run, the duke stepped down in 2025, which he said was "devastating".

In April 2026, the charity said it was suing Harry for defamation. A spokesman said he "categorically" rejected the charity's "offensive and damaging claims".

As Ever

In March 2024, Meghan launched a lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard. It was later renamed "As Ever", with jam, tea, "cookie mixes", and flower sprinkles for sale.

The Duchess also launched a digital shop selling clothing, accessories and jewellery.

In March 2026, As Ever and Netflix confirmed they had ended their financial partnership.

It is thought there are plans to expand the brand to Australia, where the company registered trademarks in 12 different product categories in 2025.

While in Australia, Meghan was due to appear at a women-only "girls weekend" in Sydney hosted by the producers of the Her Best Life podcast, with tickets costing up to A$3,199 (£1,684).

She also appeared as a guest judge on an episode of MasterChef Australia.

Television

Separately, the Sussexes' media company, Archewell Productions, signed a contract with Netflix in 2020 to produce TV and films for the streaming platform, believed to be worth about $100m (£75m).

The duke and duchess first featured in the Harry and Meghan documentary series where they spoke about life in the Royal Family.

The Heart of Invictus series discussed the duke's emotional "unravelling" after military service in Afghanistan.

Meghan's lifestyle and cookery show - With Love, Meghan - ran for two series and a Christmas special but did not perform as well as expected.

The contract ended in summer 2025 and was replaced by a "first look deal" which gives Netflix first refusal on any new proposed shows from the couple.

Podcasts

Archewell has also made podcasts for Spotify under a contract thought to be worth $25m (£19.7m).

This included a series called Archetypes, which featured the duchess in conversation with well-known women.

A nine-part series with Lemonada Media, Confessions of a Female Founder, followed.

Books

Harry's memoir, Spare, was published in January 2023.

It discussed his relationship with his brother and father, as well as his grief over the death of his mother Diana, Princess of Wales.

The book's publishers promised $1.5m (£1.18m) and £300,000 respectively would be given to the Sentebale and WellChild charities.

Meghan wrote a children's book called The Bench in 2021.

Inheritance

William and Harry received the bulk of their mother Princess Diana's £13m fortune when she died in 1997.

In a 2021 interview, Harry told Oprah Winfrey his share of the money funded his family's move to the US.

He is also thought to have inherited millions from his great-grandmother, the Queen Mother.

It is not known whether the late Queen Elizabeth left him any money.

Acting

During her acting career, Meghan was reportedly paid $50,000 (£40,000) for each episode of the legal drama Suits.

She appeared in more than 100 episodes.

The case started on 19 January 2026 and ran for 10 weeks.

Harry and others claimed that Associated Newspapers' publications gathered information about them by unlawful means.

Harry was joined in court by his fellow plaintiffs: model Elizabeth Hurley, actor Sadie Frost, Sir Elton John and the singer's husband David Furnish, as well as campaigner Baroness Lawrence and Sir Simon Hughes, the former Liberal Democrat MP.

Associated Newspapers Ltd strongly denied the "preposterous allegations".

A written judgment from Mr Justice Nicklin is expected at a later date.

In January 2025, the publisher of the Sun newspaper agreed to pay Harry "substantial damages" and apologised for "serious intrusion" into his private life between 1996 and 2011.

News Group Newspapers - which also published the News of the World before its 2011 closure - also apologised for serious intrusion into the private life of Princess Diana.

Harry also settled a phone hacking claim against Mirror Group Newspapers in 2024.

His lawyer said the duke had been awarded "substantial" damages. He was also granted £140,600 in damages in another part of the case.

Since stepping down as working royals, the duke and duchess are no longer covered by standard security arrangements in place for senior royals.

In May2025, Harry lost a legal case to have full police protection reinstated when visiting the UK.

He told BBC News that it was not safe to bring his family back to the country because he could not guarantee their safety.

Harry said he "would love a reconciliation" with his father and the rest of the Royal Family, but that the dispute over security had "always been the sticking point".

In December 2025, sources told BBC News that a Home Office review would consider whether he should automatically receive full police protection.

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